Menhaden does the trick. - by AnnahBelle

                             We caught 10 stone crab on our first catch ....

... and no one got hurt.

It was fun on my first time de-clawing.  My job was to rebait the traps.

All the claws weighed 1lb 14.3oz.  And they were good!

Our by-catch was several spider crabs, a couple of conchs, snails, and a little fish.

Thanks, AnnahBelle

Let's talk some crab.

About two weeks ago the stone crabs made their first appearance of the 2010 season.  Johnny Soesbee, a local crabber, reported that he is catching stone crab in his blue crab traps on the back side of the narrow seaward islands.  That makes perfect sense... high salinity and oysters.  The shallow water allows the sun to heat the bottom mud faster.  And, the water temperature is consistently running from 58-60F.  Josiah helped move traps from the harbor reaches to the barrier islands.  We baited heavy with pig feet to see what would happen.  And...we got our first piece in interesting 'research' information.

Over the past week or so we have being concentrating nine of our traps just behind Folly Island.  While crabbers all around us were catching loads of 'stones', we netted... an excessive amount of mud, tons of snails, two dog fish, one spider crab, and ... one little stone crab.  Pig's feet are the bait of choice in Florida, but the water is warmer and their season doesn't start until May.  Cold water doesn't disperse scent as broadly as warm water so the SCKs are going to have to 'get stinky'er'.  Well, at least the bait is going to have to be stinky'er.

So, today Sarah and I pulled seven of the nine traps and baited them with menhaden, a very smelly, oily fish commonly used as crab bait in the Carolinas.  We'd like to say we left the other two of the nine pots baited with pig's feet to conduct some serious scientific comparisons between the catching potential of hog bait vs fish bait.  Actually, Capt. Dad had to rush back to the landing because his 'striker'  (the helper / sorter / baiter / pot hauler person in a crab boat) had to .... well she .... ummm .... let's just say she had finished off a really big bottle of soda!!!

REPENT!!!!! Boat Reversal

Yes .... I just spent $1000 on materials to build a pilothouse on Frankie's boat.  Yes .... it was set up perfectly for commercial fishing.  Yes .... it was a good solid offshore hull.  BUT .... this little beauty popped up just in the nick-of-time.

Stan Yocco, of Bluffton SC, was heading in from offshore a couple of weeks ago when his engine blew.  His family and friends all  have boats, so he decided to get rid of his 25' SportCraft.  And, are we delighted!  NOTICE: It already has a pilothouse.

But ... it is really heavy .... and long.  Stan and I tried for a couple of hours to get the SportCraft on our trailer.  We got it on, but it just couldn't carry the weight safety.  With the 'jack plate extension' and engine, the boat is nearly 28' long.  Our new 225hp with its 30" shaft will work perfectly!

So, Frankie is going to keep his hull in NC.  He is considering returning to his original plan of building himself a shrimp boat.  But first, he has another ChrisCraft to restore. Which brings us back to the $1000 in materials.  Frankie needs those materials for that restoration.  And, everyone can boat happily ever after.

Now the search is on for a larger trailer .

The Engine Search: Mission Accomplished!!!

Brian Welch of the The Boat Shed in Georgetown, SC had the engine we needed.  One of Brian's good customers had ordered a brand new 4 stroke, 250 hp Yamaha and sold us his 97' 225 hp, 2 stroke Yamaha.  What a blessing!  The engine comes with  a stainless steel prop, controls, gauges, reservoir, and very, very low hours.  It was used an average of 14 hours per year.  The SCKs do that many hours in a couple of weeks! There are less expensive engines out there, but Brian knows the previous owner and The Boat Shed had done all the maintenance on this engine over the years.  Having a personal history of the engine was worth the extra money.

This engine also has something else we needed ... a 30" shaft. That is significant!  A 30" shaft, which is long by most standards, has allowed me to make another purchase.  If all goes as planned, we'll post more about that at the end of the week.

Frankie and I spend Saturday changing the wheel bearings of the boat trailer.  Because trailers get backed down and submerged into the water when off-loading the boat, the bearings can easily get damaged by the saltwater if not maintained correctly.  Changing wheel bearings is a dirty job under the best of conditions. However, wheel bearings have a nasty habit of going out at the worst times ... 32 miles from home, in the rain, at night, when the temperatures have dropped below freezing due to the driving wind, on a narrow road with no shoulder, just after your cell phone battery died, on the only day of your life that you left your tools at the house.

Better safe than sorry...really, really sorry.

Boat Update

The process up getting the boat ready has begun with moving it to Frankie's shop in New Bern, NC.    Pumping up tires, greasing bearings, strapping, etc. and we were off.  I was particularly impressed as to how well the boat pulled on the trailer.  But when we hit a dip in the road,  I realized how really heavy this hull is.  And, it doesn't even have an engine on it yet.

To my untrained eye, this boat looks like a 'train wreck'.  Certainly I can see the classic line design of an offshore hull.  When I climb around in it I can feel that it is solid!  But Frankie sees potential that's out of my range. He just laughs and says, "It will be beautiful. Don't worry".

The manufacturer of the hull is SportFisher and we are calling it the "The Eubanks Special Edition".

The right-hand picture shows the wooden bulkhead which had to be replaced due to rot, as well as the unhinged teak hatch.  Frankie pulls leaves and debris from the transom prior to taking off for New Bern in the picture to the left.  The white box next to the boat is a drop-in insulated cooler that mounts in the stern against the transom.  We will use this cooler with a blend of raw sea water and ice to store our catch while fishing to retain flavor.

The hunt for a 225hp outboard engine continues. Obviously that is an essential element.

Watching the transformation of the vessel should prove quite interesting.  The Stone Crab Kids hope you enjoy.

Ten more traps where delivered via FedEx today. Lots of chores to fill our time. Its a good thing!

Tidelines

The article in the Post & Courier's Tidelines Magazine has hit the streets, and the Stone Crab Kids (SCKs) have secured their copies.  Many thanks to Ali Butler and Matt Winter for their kindness toward my children and interest in the project.

Boat Update: 
We have a hull being rebuilt for the SCKs.  Frankie Eubanks, a  North Carolina fisherman and boat builder, has adopted the SCKs.  The boat will be ready in about 10 weeks.  I will post photos of the transformation.  We are still looking for a  225hp outboard engine.


West Marine: 
Our first order of materials has been placed with West Marine.  Rob at the West Ashley store in Charleston SC is assisting in coordinating with Keith in the New Bern NC store to get materials to Frankie.  I can't say enough about how helpful West Marine has been throughout this process.  However, I can tell you that when Jim Kearney called from the company's California headquarters, he stated that he had heard what the SCKs were doing and that West Marine was going to say 'yes' to everything they could.  So, now the shameless corporate plug ... please find the list of supporters on the SKCs website.  Each one of them has contributed to making this research possible.

And, if we can 'wrestle' some stone crab claws away from Annah Bethel, there may be some left over for the Charleston Crab House.